Marxist Theories of Crime and Deviance

Lesson Objectives

• Introduce Marxist theories of C&D

• Compare and Contrast Marxists theories to that of Interactionists and Functionalists

• Evaluate Marxist theories of C&D

Last Lesson Recap

• Summarise the Interactionists theory of C&D using no more 100 words

Marxist view of crime and deviance

Which one is the criminal?

They both are!!!!

Something to think about.........Question 1: Why do you think the crimes of the powerful are ‘under-policed, rarely prosecuted or punished’?Question 2: Why should ‘little or no state welfare provision’ lead to higher crime rates?

Headquarters of the energy company Enron, one of America’s leading corporations until it went bankrupt in 2001 amid financial scandal >

Recap Traditional Marxism• What do we already know about Marxists?• Ruling Capital Class (Bourgeoisie)• Means of production• Working Class (Proletariat)• Marxism is a structural theory- society is a structure in which

the economic base (capitalist economy) determines the shape of the superstructure (made up of all the institutions)

• Marxists are critical criminologists- a theoretical perspective in criminology which sees crime as a product of oppression

• Conflict criminology claims that crime is inevitable in capitalist societies, as invariably certain groups will become marginalised and unequal

Activity: Are Marxist ideas still relevant today ?’

Traditional Marxist approaches argued that:

Crime is generated by the structure of capitalist society – crime’s inevitable in societies where

some are richer than others

Capitalism’s forced her to commit crime.

• The structure of Capitalist Society explains Crime. The view of Crime has 3 main elements:

1.Criminogenic Capitalism2.The state and law making3.Ideological functions of crime and law

Capitalism is criminogenic - it makes

crime inevitable.

Criminogenic: Producing or tending to produce crime or criminality

Class inequality in a capitalist economic

system is a major cause of crime.

Mr Chav nicks stuff advertised on telly cos he can’t afford to buy it.

But why is crime a working class thing?

Capitalism is based on the exploitation of the WC for profit

It's because middle class crime is ignored...

...so it looks as if the working class are the

criminal ones.

• Read the section on crimogenic capitalism on page 87 of the Crime and Deviance. Briefly explain what is crimogenic about capitalism, and which social classes it applies to.

Explain the crimogenic nature of the following things:

AO2 POINT?

Gordon (1976) argues crime is a rationalresponse to capitalism and therefore is found in all classes

The state and law making

• Marxists see law making and enforcement as serving the interests of capitalist class. Chambliss (1975) argues that laws to protect private property are the basis of the capitalist economy

• Read the two case studies (activity 3), from a Marxist point of view, what do they suggest about the process of law creation in capitalist societies ?

• The ruling class have the power to prevent the introduction of laws harmful to their interest. Few laws challenge the unequal distribution of wealth

YOU SCRATCH MY BACK; I'LL SCRATCH YOURS.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_qMJAlZnOqQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GVxRH1xQ9cY

Marxists argue the law is SELECTIVE.

One law for one...One law for another.

Tax evasion is rarely prosecuted but social

security fraud is ALWAYS prosecuted.

Selective Enforcement• All classes commit crime however there is

selective enforcement of the law- there is bias in favour of those at the top.

Sally Clarke was jailed for life, convicted of murdering two of her three children. She was released on appeal because the evidence was dodgy. She died in March 2007, a broken woman.

This is Nestle – they make Milky Bars, Yorkie Bars and Cheerios. They aggressively marketed baby milk formula in developing countries in the 70s, 80s and 90s. Their formula killed thousands of babies because of the contaminated water it was mixed with; led to higher birth rate because of depriving women of their natural contraception during breast feeding.

They have never faced charges or been made to account for their actions.

Claims of pure orange

But did not contain

Recent statistics show that 1/3 corporate crime discovered due to tip offs rather than investigation

Marxists argue the crimes of the middle

class are...

UNDER-POLICEDUNDER-PUNISHED

&UNDER-ESTIMATED.

• Reiman (2001) suggests that crimes of the powerful are much less likely to be treated as criminal offences and prosecuted.

• There are higher rates of prosecution for the kinds of ‘street crimes’ that poor people typically commit e.g. Burglary and assault. Yet crimes committed by higher classes e.g. Serious tax evasion the CJS takes a more forgiving view of.

• Carson (1971) in a sample of 200 firms, found all had broken health and safety laws yet only 1.5% of cases were prosecuted.

Ideological Functions of Crime and Law• Crime and the law perform ideological functions for

capitalism• Some laws benefit workers e.g. health and safety. However

Pearce (1976) argues that these also benefit capitalism. By giving it a ‘caring’ face, the create false consciousness

• Because the state enforces the law selectively, crime appears to be largely WC. This divides the WC, encouraging workers to blame WC criminals for their problems, rather than capitalism

• Selective Enforcement distorts the crime statistics. By making crime appear largely WC, it shifts attention from more serious ruling class crime

Activity 4: Evaluating Marxist theories

• Summarise Traditional Marxists viewpoints of C&D

Brief summary of Marxist explanations of crime.

CAPITALISM = GREED, COMPETITION & SELF-SEEKING.

GREED, COMPETITION & SELF- SEEKING = DIVISION BETWEEN RICH AND POOR.

INJUSTICE, ENVY & FRUSTRATION = CRIMINAL AND DEVIANT BEHAVIOUR.

SO CAPITALISM = CRIME.

DIVISION BETWEEN RICH AND POOR = INEQUALITY.

INEQUALITY = INJUSTICE, ENVY & FRUSTRATION.

HomeworkFind answers to the following:1. What is meant by the term ‘white-collar crime’?2. What is ‘corporate crime’?3. Find three examples of corporate crime.4. What is ‘occupational crime’?5. Find three examples of occupational crime.6. How might it be argued that white-collar crime is more costly to society than

street crime?7. Some argue that white-collar crime is less important than street crime

because there are often no direct victims. Suggest three ways in which people may be indirect victims of white collar crime.

8. Identify two types of white-collar crime that do have direct victims.9. Some prosecutions for white-collar crime arise as the result of ‘accidents’ at

work, caused by cutting corners or negligence. When does an ‘accident’ become a crime?